The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-402045 filed on Dec. 28, 2000, including specification, claims, drawings and summary are incorporated herein by reference in their entirely.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal optical element provided with liquid crystal which exhibits two or more optically stable states in a non-voltage-application time.
2. Description of the Background
A chiral nematic liquid crystal optical element (hereinbelow, referred to as CL-LCD) has a phase-change type mode. It provides selective reflection in a planar state (hereinbelow, referred to as PL), and provides a scattering state in a focalconic state (hereinbelow, referred to as FC). By applying a predetermined voltage across the electrodes, the liquid crystal can be transformed into PL or FC. For example, when it is transformed from FC to PL, the liquid crystal is once rendered to be a homeotropic state (a state that liquid crystal molecules are aligned vertically to the substrate plane, and hereinbelow, referred to as HO), and then, it is transformed into PL. Then, the liquid crystal is stable in PL or FC even in a non-voltage-application time, and either state can be maintained.
Description will be made as to an optical display state. In FC, a slightly scattering state of incident light is produced, and in PL, a selective reflection of incident light is produced. Further by adjusting the helical pitch (xcexAVG) of the liquid crystal layer, an operation mode of xe2x80x9ctransmittance-scatteringxe2x80x9d or a color display utilizing colors of selectively reflected light can be effected.
Electrodes for CL-LCD, and a display state of it and so on are described already in U.S. Ser. No. 09/813988 (preliminary application No., filed on Mar. 22, 2001), and the relation of a driving method and a display state thereof and so on are described already in U.S. patent application filed on Apr. 2, 2001 by Makoto Nagai et al (no application number given yet). The present application refers to and includes portions relating to these applications.
Next, description will be made as to a unique problem of CL-LCD originated from a memory state. The state of CL-LCD is made to be a memory state in FC or PL, and it is left for a predetermined time in a non-voltage-application state. Then, even when a voltage corresponding to a new image is applied so as to change the display, a xe2x80x9cimage-sticking phenomenonxe2x80x9d wherein the previous display remains takes place.
In the following, such image-sticking phenomenon will be explained by taking a dot matrix type CL-LCD having 160 row electrodes and 160 column electrodes as an example. In this case, it is assumed that xe2x80x9can alignment layerxe2x80x9d in contact with the liquid crystal layer at an inner side of the substrates is made of the same material as used for a TN or STN liquid crystal display element. Generally, since a surface of an aligning layer in the TN or STN liquid crystal display element is subjected to an aligning treatment by rubbing, a material having a high surface hardness (for example, 3H-6H in a pencil hardness test method) is used. In CL-LCD too for example, the same technique is used. As a concrete example on an aligning layer in contact with the liquid crystal layer, there is known a case of providing polyimide or a case without using any aligning layer (U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,863).
Then, a background portion of a display area of dot matrix type is made to be FC, and portions corresponding to characters, figures and so on are made to be PL. An example of displaying a character of xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d is shown in FIG. 4(a). After such predetermined image has been provided, the application of a voltage is stopped, and the display panel is left for a long time in a incubator of 60xc2x0 C.
Then, a voltage which makes the liquid crystal in the whole display area to be HO is applied. When the liquid crystal in the whole area becomes HO, the display in the whole area is extinguished. When a voltage is applied subsequently so that the liquid crystal in the whole area becomes FC, the whole area does not provide an uniform color but the character of xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d which has been previously displayed remains slightly, and the character is observed as shown in FIG. 4(b). Further, even in a case that the liquid crystal of the whole area is made to be PL via HO after the panel has been left for a long time, the display of xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d remains.
On the contrary, the image-sticking phenomenon takes place even in the following case. Namely, the liquid crystal in the background portion is made to be PL, and the liquid crystal in the portions corresponding to characters and so on is made to be FC. The display panel in such states is left for a long time, and then, a display in the whole area is extinguished by applying a voltage by which the state of the liquid crystal in the whole area of display becomes HO (the liquid crystal itself is in a transparent state). Subsequently, the whole display area is changed to PL or FC. In particular, the image-sticking phenomenon is apt to be observed in a case that a display state wherein the liquid crystal corresponding to the background portion is FC and the liquid crystal corresponding to characters and so on is PL is left for a long time, and then, the liquid crystal in the whole display area is made to be FC.
Further, image-sticking takes place as well in a case of CL-LCD having segment type electrodes. For instance, the image-sticking occurs when a display state wherein a display portion is PL and a background portion is FC is maintained for a long time, and then, such display is changed to another display.
In FIG. 5(a), all 7 segments are ON to display a character of xe2x80x9c8xe2x80x9d. A color display in combination of black in a background portion in FC and a selective reflection in a visible range in a segment portion in PL, is provided. In FIG. 5(b), when a character of xe2x80x9c5xe2x80x9d is newly displayed, upper right and lower left segment portions are lit weakly.
However, when a display is performed in combination is of PL and FC in CL-LCD, a PL portion is generally light and the most high visibility is obtainable. Accordingly, in a case of the segment type display in FIG. 5, a possibility of causing erroneous recognition is relatively lower than the case of the dot matrix type in FIG. 4.
The image-sticking phenomenon remains slightly even after a voltage for providing HO has continuously been applied and a state that the entire display area is erased has been continued for several hours. Further, a display state having a image-sticking phenomenon (hereinbelow, referred to as image-sticking) could not be completely erased even after an isotropic state which is caused by heating the liquid crystal has been continued for several hours.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide CL-LCD capable of preventing the occurrence of image-sticking even though the liquid crystal is left for a long time while the state of the liquid crystal is constant. Further, the present invention is to provide a liquid crystal optical element having excellent function without changing largely the conventional manufacturing method, and a test method for the liquid crystal optical element.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid crystal optical element comprising a pair of substrates with electrodes between which a liquid crystal layer including a chiral nematic liquid crystal is interposed wherein at least one of the substrates is transparent and the liquid crystal layer exhibits two or more optically stable states in a non-voltage-application time, the liquid crystal optical element being characterized in that a boundary layer is provided between an electrode on at least one of the substrates and the liquid crystal layer, and the surface hardness of the boundary layer is B or less in terms of a pencil hardness test.
In a second aspect, the above-mentioned liquid crystal optical element wherein the boundary layer is a resin layer is provided. In a third aspect, the above-mentioned liquid crystal optical element wherein the resin layer is of polyimide is provided. In a fourth aspect, the above-mentioned liquid crystal optical element wherein the electrode on at least one of the substrates is divided into a plurality of portions is provided. In a fifth aspect, the above-mentioned liquid crystal optical element wherein the surface hardness is 3B or less is provided. In a sixth aspect, the above-mentioned liquid crystal optical element wherein a dot matrix display is performed with the electrodes is provided. In a seventh aspect, the above-mentioned liquid crystal optical element wherein a segment display is performed with the electrodes is provided. In an eighth aspect, the above-mentioned liquid crystal optical element wherein the heat distortion temperature of a material for forming the boundary layer is 50xc2x0 C. or more, and the coefficient of elasticity at room temperature is 1 kPa or more, is provided.
Further, according to a ninth aspect, there is provided a test method for a liquid crystal optical element comprising a pair of substrates with electrodes between which a liquid crystal layer including a chiral nematic liquid crystal is interposed wherein at least one of the substrates is transparent and the liquid crystal layer exhibits two or more optically stable states in a non-voltage-application time, the test method being characterized in that a boundary layer is provided between an electrode on at least one of the substrates and the liquid crystal layer, and judgment is made as to the presence or absence of a image-sticking phenomenon after the liquid crystal optical element has been left for 1 hour or more in a state of maintaining a predetermined image.
Further, according to a tenth aspect, there is provided a test method for a boundary layer of a liquid crystal optical element comprising a pair of substrates with electrodes between which a liquid crystal layer including a chiral nematic liquid crystal is interposed wherein at least one of the substrates is transparent; the liquid crystal layer exhibits two or more optically stable states in a non-voltage-application time, and a boundary layer is provided at least a part between an electrode on at least one of the substrates and liquid crystal, the test method for a boundary layer of a liquid crystal optical element being characterized in that a test means having a predetermined ranking of hardness is provided; the test means is brought to contact with the boundary layer N times (1xe2x89xa6N) or more while a pressure is applied to the test means, and evaluation is made as to the surface hardness of the boundary layer based on whether or not a flaw is resulted in the boundary layer, whereby applicability to the liquid crystal layer is determined.